I have read several posts on here about what should be in a first aid kit and some on the kind of pouch/container to keep it all in. I think a good idea for anyone preparing a first aid kit is to give it a try out. Act out certain situations and see if you can use your medi kit in anger.
The last time i was in the woods way back in August (much to my dismay. but thats married life/fatherhood for you) i was whittling a spoon using my axe on wet wood when the axe slipped and went into my left index finger knuckle. It didnt hurt much at the time but seemed to bleed plenty. Anyway luckily i always have my first aid kit handy whenever i touch a bladed implement. The problem was that my first aid is a little zipped pouch packed solid. It was incredibly difficult to open it, get what i needed out and then try to put it all back in and zip it up with one hand.
After my hand was cleaned and bandaged up I decided to stay in the woods for the night and head home the next day. While lying in my hammock trying desperately not to touch my now tender hand i started thinking about my first aid kit.
I came to the following conclusions.
I like the idea of my first aid kit being in a red dry bag which can be hung/clipped on to just about anything and is easy to open with one hand.
Within the dry bag there will be items grouped together and kept in sealable sandwich bags. So if i need to tip the entire first aid kit out onto wet ground nothing bad is going to happen to the items.
I am in the middle of purchasing additional items for my first aid kit and then i plan to act a few scenarios to see how it does and what further improvements i can make.
So when making up your first aid it might be worth taking a few minutes pretending to dress a wound on your hand. Better to have a dry run at home than have a really annoying first aid kit when in the woods alone and in need of some first aid.
The last time i was in the woods way back in August (much to my dismay. but thats married life/fatherhood for you) i was whittling a spoon using my axe on wet wood when the axe slipped and went into my left index finger knuckle. It didnt hurt much at the time but seemed to bleed plenty. Anyway luckily i always have my first aid kit handy whenever i touch a bladed implement. The problem was that my first aid is a little zipped pouch packed solid. It was incredibly difficult to open it, get what i needed out and then try to put it all back in and zip it up with one hand.
After my hand was cleaned and bandaged up I decided to stay in the woods for the night and head home the next day. While lying in my hammock trying desperately not to touch my now tender hand i started thinking about my first aid kit.
I came to the following conclusions.
I like the idea of my first aid kit being in a red dry bag which can be hung/clipped on to just about anything and is easy to open with one hand.
Within the dry bag there will be items grouped together and kept in sealable sandwich bags. So if i need to tip the entire first aid kit out onto wet ground nothing bad is going to happen to the items.
I am in the middle of purchasing additional items for my first aid kit and then i plan to act a few scenarios to see how it does and what further improvements i can make.
So when making up your first aid it might be worth taking a few minutes pretending to dress a wound on your hand. Better to have a dry run at home than have a really annoying first aid kit when in the woods alone and in need of some first aid.
